News
From the Association of Regional Observatories
May 2009
Yorkshire Futures launch
“Progress in the Region”
Intelligence East Midlands
support sub-regional climate
change research
Spotlight on... the West
Midlands
North East Regional
Information Partnership
introduces “About the Region”
North West Regional
Intelligence Unit supports the
development of the regional
strategy evidence base
The launch of a new
regional observatory: Insight
East
South West Observatory
conference examines the
challenges faced by the region
London’s DMAG Borough
Stat-pack 2009 now available
South East England Intelligence
Network boasts refreshed
website
This quarterly newsletter is designed
to regularly update the Association
of Regional Observatories and
stakeholders with current events and
news of note. Please feel free to
circulate this to those who might be
interested. Submissions for the next
newsletter should be made by the
end of July.
All ARO Meeting: June 25th,
The Studio, Birmingham
This meeting is open to all those
working in an organisation that’s a
member of ARO, and is much more
than a meeting - it’s a chance to meet
your colleagues and learn new skills
in an inspiring environment. The
morning will focus on area profiling; a
topic which continues to develop,
and will be of importance as Local
Economic Assessments become a
priority. The afternoon will be an
interactive workshop on the re-
search and policy-making process.
Add to that a chance to hear snap-
shots from work in other observato-
ries, and you get a really worthwhile
day so make sure you’ve got this date
in your diary!
Sub-groups
The Association can be a good way
of working with your colleagues in
other observatories who have similar
professional interests to you. ARO is
supporting GIS specialists to get in
touch with one another, and is
funding their attendance at a relevant
conference. The modelling specialists
amongst us are also considering how
Events coming soon
Getting involved with ARO
May 2009
12th: East Midlands Intelligence
Network event - Population and
Migration, 10am, Nottingham Science
Park
13th: European Spatial Observation
Network workshop - Targeting
analysis on migration and economy,
11.15am, London
14th: Burisa conference - Location,
location, location - Whither geo-
graphical information? 10am, London
20th: Local Government Chronicle
conference - Fundamentals of Infor-
mation Management, 9am, London
to use their expertise to benefit the
network as a whole. Do you think
there’s a way in which ARO can help
you to network and learn from
colleagues? If so, let the Coordina-
tor know.
The ARO wiki
Wouldn’t it be great if there was a
list of all staff in observatories?
Somewhere to share future research
plans whilst still at the early stage? A
way of saying that you’ve got exper-
tise or expe-
rience in a
particular
area, and that
you can help
advise col-
leagues in other observatories? Or
even a way of working collabora-
tively on documents or tenders? The
wiki is a website for everyone who
works in a regional observatory, that
can be edited and used by them in
the ways they want. If you haven’t
signed in already, the Coordinator
can help you out, and coming soon
will be a point of contact in each
observatory who can help you get
the most out of it.enalytical train-
ing
June 2009
2nd: RSS seminar - Measuring
Change over Time in Worklessness
and other small area statistics, 5pm,
London
3rd: South West Public Health
Annual Scientific Conference,
Weston-super-Mare
8th & 9th: NWRIU research confer-
ence, Liverpool
July 2009
7th: Data Visualisation day - giCentre,
City University, London
News from the Association of Regional Observatories
Yorkshire’s Progress Report - an improving Intelligence East Midlands
supporting research into
performance in difficult times climate change policy at
• Income (median weekly pay) is the sub-national level
second highest annual growth in the
IEM and the Economic and Social
country at 3.5%
Research Council (ESRC) are sup-
• Total recorded crime has decreased porting a full-time PhD studentship
since 2002 based at the University of Notting-
• The number of adults doing regular ham.
sport and active recreation has
increased and is above the national
average.
The report also points to ‘Landmark
Issues’ where the region is working
to tackle problematic long term
trends such as:

• Transport - the trend to more

traffic, longer journeys and a higher
proportion by car and lorry, with Nottingham’s Jubilee Campus library
consequences for congestion and This innovative research project will
emissions focus on the delivery of climate change
• Climate change - greenhouse gas policy at the sub-national level,
The number of adults in the region doing regular
sport is above the national average emissions are not yet reducing in line principally within the East Midlands, and
with targets and ‘adaptation’ issues examine ways in which sub-national
Hilary Benn, Minister of State for such as flood risk are also key policy contributes to achieving national
Environment Food and Rural climate change policy goals.
Affairs, joined over 200 delegates • Productivity and Innovation – The project will also investigate
attending the launch of the ‘Progress in innovation and the need to raise tensions between national and sub-
the Region’ report. The report, business R&D investment remains a national climate change policy and
produced by Yorkshire Futures, assesses key issue. between proposals to reduce
progress in key areas like transport, jobs, greenhouse gas emissions and other
housing, crime and the environment. Speaking at the launch, Bea Jefferson, policies at the national and sub-national
Programme Manager at Yorkshire level.
Futures said “In such uncertain Throughout the duration of the
“We must not lose sight of the economic times, it is important to project, briefings papers and seminars
wider issues that affect people’s remind ourselves of the steady will be used to disseminate research
wellbeing. I congratulate every- progress we have made in the region findings to a wider policy/practice
one who has not only helped to over the past 10 years. Progress in audience; in particular, outputs from
bring about significant improve- the Region highlights these the literature review, survey and
ments but has worked to ensure improvements, but recognises that interviews.
that we are better informed than there are still areas where we need Warren Pearce has been selected as
ever before about the state of to do considerably more if we are to the research student for this project.
move towards fully sustainable Warren holds an MA in Public Policy,
our region and that we act on
development. The economy is specialising in climate change policy,
the evidence.” undoubtedly important, but
Hilary Benn MP and has been Programme Assistant at
maintaining improvements in our Regeneration East Midlands since
environment, health and quality of life, September 2007.
Good news that stands out includes: and reducing inequality have to
Preparatory discussions are now
remain a central goal for regional
• A 48% increase in the region’s Index of under way with the project starting in
Sustainable Economic Wellbeing (an policy makers”.
October 2009. If you would like to
indicator that adjusts GVA to take For the full report, and the four find out more about the project,
account of social and environmental “Progress in the City Region” reports, please contact Warren or read the
aspects of growth) see http://bit.ly/4D0lb project summary: http://bit.ly/XCRe1

www.regionalobservatories.org.uk
News from the Association of Regional Observatories
Spotlight on...
The recession: short- and long-term responses
What might the West Midlands
look like post-recession?
The West Midlands Regional
Observatory is currently exploring
what the West Midlands region might
look like post-recession, through
commissioning a series of “think
pieces” that explore how the region
can prepare itself for the end of the
downturn.
The ultimate aim of the report will be
to stimulate debate, promote
discussion and influence policy on the
future growth of the region. The focus
will be on the future of the West
Midlands, rather than on the effects of
the recession, and will explore the
region’s ability to maximise post-
recession potential.
We are currently commissioning a
number of authors, who will each write
a chapter for the report. Some of the
themes we hope to cover include:
lessons that can be learnt from past
recessions about how the region
adapted to change; how changes will
affect the workforce, what skills will be
needed, where the skill gaps will be and
how people’s work patterns will
change; and whether this is this a good
time to address environmental
concerns and what opportunities are
available.
What skills will be needed in the future?
We hope to have the report available
for launch in July, and it will inform the
discussion at the Observatory’s annual
conference on 20th October.
The West Midlands Regional Observatory
An intelligent response to the
recession
Alongside the Observatory’s continuing
work on the medium to long term
economic prospects of the region, the
current economic downturn has
highlighted the importance of regular
up-to-date analysis of short term
leading indicators.
Since the middle of 2008, the
Observatory has provided monthly
briefings on emerging economic
conditions. Through regular contact
with regional Chambers of Commerce,
Engineering Employers Federation,
Confederation of British Industry,
Office for National Statistics and
regional agents from the Bank of
England, we are able to collate the
latest evidence and provide updates to
partners.
Looking ahead at the potential impact
of the downturn on the region, as well
as individual local authority areas, is a
critical part of identifying the key areas
for intervention. As new information
becomes available, economists are
being forced to review their
approaches to forecast the prospects
for 2009 and beyond.
The Observatory has been leading
research in advancing regional models
to examine structural economic
change. We have highlighted the
weaknesses in traditional economic
models, most notably where these
models rely on the continuation of
statistical relationships as the basis of
projecting forward.
Evidence from emerging economic data
highlights that these relationships have
been significantly strained. This is more
pronounced at local levels where the
importance of key employers is more
marked. For example, if an employer
exits a local economy, the impact is felt
and noticed more at a local level than
it is when viewing the sector as a
whole at a regional level. The
requirement therefore is for a flexible
www.regionalobservatories.org.uk
The impact of
employers’
decisions is
more marked
at local level
and
adaptive
model that
enables
analysts to
explore a
range of
potential
impacts of employment change on
local economies within a single
framework.
The Observatory’s Integrated Policy
Model (IPM) provides an important
tool for examining the potential
implications of the recession for local
authorities in the region. The model
has the flexibility to incorporate
revisions to economic conditions and
how they may impact across
neighbouring local areas. The model
draws on national and regional
forecasts, enabling the Observatory
to incorporate international and
national impacts on certain sectors
such as motor manufacturing. These
are combined with the impacts, direct
and indirect, of localised economic
change on sectors such as retail or
consumer services.
In a rapidly changing economic
climate, it is essential to have a model
flexible enough to examine emerging
implications of the downturn. The
IPM will allow the Observatory and
its partners to look at a range of
scenarios at different geographical
levels, including the potential depth
and duration of the recession. This
has the strength of enabling a range
of potential impacts to be considered,
rather than reliance on a single
forecast reflecting national impacts.
Read more on the Integrated Policy
Model: http://bit.ly/qNltl
Read more on the recession monitor-
ing: http://bit.ly/61YJy
News from the Association of Regional Observatories
North East introduce North West’s regional evidence stimulates debate to
online report to keep part- prepare for the regional strategy
ners up to date with the The Regional Intelligence Unit (RIU) is about future actions. That
important information now updating the Regional Strategy exploratory work will occur during
“About the Region” evidence papers, following a series of 2009 and starts with an analysis of
consultation sessions held during the issues facing the region and the
About the Region (ATR) is NERIP’s
September 2008 and taking account of principles we might adopt – the
successor to 30 years of the State of
new or updated data sets. The papers “Principles and Issues Paper”. This
the Region Report. The main difference
are also being updated in conjunction has been published jointly by 4NW
is that ATR will be an on-line product
with many kind offers of help received and NWDA and was subject to full
only. This means that it will be possible
to keep the product constantly up-to- from consultees and it is expected consultation.
date, and also that there are no con- that the papers will change and evolve State of the Region Report
straints around the length or range of with the discussion, either in content, The RIU has just published the ‘State
content. coverage or relevance of topics going of the Region Report’ which is a
ATR will tell a forward. The purpose of the evidence culmination of work that has been
series of stories papers was to be a first draft to carried out by the RIU team
about Business, stimulate debate and discussion, in throughout 2008. It draws together
People, Place and developing an approach to formulating work carried out within the 2007/08
the Environment in a new regional strategy. research programme, drafting of the
the North East,
It is important to emphasise that these Regional Strategy evidence papers
illustrated with and the constant data and intelli-
papers do not constitute the full
graphs, maps and gence monitoring work the team
evidence base required; backward
tables. The data does.
looking data updates clearly do not
behind the indica- Find it online here: http://bit.ly/6o4j5
explore future priorities or choices
tors will be downloadable from the site.
ATR is being coordinated by the NERIP Intelligence East Midlands learns the lessons of
team, with experts on different themes
writing individual chapters. ATR will be analytical training
a key tool for policy-makers seeking to The ‘why?’ and ‘how?’
understand the issues the region faces,
Intelligence East Midlands offered a full confidence levels between the start
now and in the future, as they develop
training programme for the first time and end of the day, with almost all
the integrated Regional Strategy. For
in 2008, as part of the wider agreeing that they would be able to
more details contact Rebecca Hulbert
Regeneration East Midlands training use what they had learnt in their
(rebecca.hulbert@nerip.com).
package. The courses were aimed at project or team. From the longer-
those working in the public and term interviews conducted so far,
North West RIU produces 85% of participants agreed that the
voluntary sectors with little or no
weekly economic briefing experience of research and analysis but training had made a significant and
The current economic downturn who need to find and use evidence to positive difference to them.
presents challenging and difficult times inform their work. Most participants selected courses
for firms, individuals and Government. Conceived as a series of introductory from the IEM programme which
In light of this the Regional Intelligence sessions, the programme covered the interested them, rather than
Unit has continued to provide a weekly key steps in the process of using responding to gaps in their knowledge
summary of economic conditions and evidence, from finding data online to that they’d already identified; in other
have added an NWDA produced disseminating findings. By restricting words they “didn’t know what they
monthly overview which is more the size of the groups in each session, didn’t know”. Research following the
qualitative and provides anecdotal there was greater opportunity for end of the programme has also
evidence from regional businesses on tailoring content to participants’ needs confirmed the potential for a greater
issues being faced. Experian, on behalf of as well as fostering an environment market for training in the future. IEM’s
the NWDA, also produces a monthly where people felt comfortable asking 2009 programme, formed in
economic briefing which provides a questions. partnership with the RIEP and
macroeconomic context for the re- working with emda and the ONS
gional and national economies. Feedback
Regional Statisticians will cover the
For more details, see the latest Participants at all the training sessions most successful courses from 2008,
NWRIU newsletter: http://bit.ly/Vqvg7 reported a clear increase in their and some new sessions.
www.regionalobservatories.org.uk
News from the Association of Regional Observatories
The launch of ‘Insight East’:
the new economic
intelligence centre for the
East of England
Insight East - the new economic intelli-
gence centre for the East of England
was launched on 27 March with an
event on the current challenges facing
the region and its response to reces-
sion. Funded by the East of England
Development Agency (EEDA), Insight
East’s role is to help ensure that deci-
sions about the economy are better
informed.
Insight East provides a range of services
to ensure the region’s decision-makers
have better access to current
information on the economy and
factors affecting it. These include:
· quarterly economic briefings on
the state of the regional economy
· special research reports on specific
factors affecting the economy
· use of geographic mapping
techniques for providing and
analysing intelligence
· a fully searchable online resource
of all Insight East materials,
together with access to a wealth of
materials from other organisations
· regular electronic briefings you can
subscribe to – keeping you up to
date on latest Insight East news and
reports available on the website.
At the launch of Insight East, the report
‘Innovation Insight: The Innovation
Performance of the East of England’
was released. This report reveals that
this region is highly successful when it
comes to innovation and is one of the
top three performers amongst the 12
UK regions for 21 out of 36 measures
of innovation performance. Of these
measures, the region has the best
performance of all UK regions for nine
measures, including the highest level of
business innovation expenditure, the
Business Enterprise Investment in Research and
Development in UK regions as a proportion of
Regional GVA, 2006
highest share of employment in
research and development personnel,
and the largest share of enterprises
who actively innovated.
The East of England’s innovation
performance also performs strongly
when compared to other EU and
Organisation for Economic Co-
operation and Development (OECD)
regions.
But skills may be holding back the
innovation potential of the region.
Ranking 10th for graduates in the
workforce, and 12th (last) for the
number of higher education graduates
who confer their degrees in the
region per capita, the region performs
worse than most other UK regions
when it comes to higher education.
Nonetheless, innovation is a regional
strength that has a lot of further
potential, and will help us emerge
from recession into recovery.
More information is available at
www.insighteast.org.uk
www.regionalobservatories.org.uk
“Tracking Perceptions in
Personal Finance”
reveals people in
Yorkshire and Humber
are “not despondent”
about the economy
Most people (53%) thought that the
current state of the economy was
poor and 39% stated the economy
was in a very poor condition. This
indicates a greater degree of
pessimism than in the summer 2008
survey, when only 18% thought
conditions to be very poor.
However, 51% of people feel their
personal situation is not as bad as
portrayed in the media and 22%
expect to be better off in the next
12 months. This has improved from
the summer 2008 survey, suggesting
improved optimism among some in
the region.
At the time of the survey, in January
2009, most people said they were
pessimistic and worried over job
security which is having an effect on
their spending. The report indicates
that people were cutting back by:
reducing high street spending; saving
on items, such as holidays and home
improvement; taking measures to
combat
rising
bills.
However,
over 70%
feel
confident
about being in a job in three
months’ time and 56% expect to
receive a pay rise. 61% feel confident
about being in a job in 12 months’
time.
Bea Jefferson, Programme Manager
at Yorkshire Futures, commented,
“Although our personal finance
survey shows a growing pessimism
and worry about jobs, a significant
number of people surveyed think
the situation is not as bad as is
portrayed in the media, and when
asked about their jobs, they feel
reasonably secure.”
News from the Association of Regional Observatories
North East modelling framework Northwest
The development of an evidence base Research Conference
for the Regional Strategy is now well The Regional Intelligence Unit is
underway, and discussions have already holding the Northwest Research
been held about the desirability of a Conference on Monday 8th and
suite of quantitative models that can Tuesday 9th June 2009 at the BT
enable policy-makers to evaluate Convention Centre in Liverpool. The
future scenarios for the region, and to purpose of the event is to
understand the effects of change in communicate the findings of recent
one area of policy on another – for projects funded by the Regional
example, the effects of growth in a Intelligence Unit and partners in
specific industrial sector on carbon addition to providing guidance on
emissions. A modelling framework? regional and local data produced by
Ship for the Sinking (Sculpture Kit)© Paul Lewthwaite the Office for National Statistics
As with other aspects of the evidence
meet policy needs and work is required
base, the models should be capable of (ONS).
developing our understanding at a to further develop others. For example, Presentations and sessions on the first
there are probably issues about the
range of geographical levels, within the day will follow a Business & Economy
extent to which outputs from the
constraints of the availability of data. It theme whilst day two will be devoted
existing models are consistent with
follows that a variety of organisations to Places, Environment & Opportunity
each other – the ideal being that the
in the region should have access to and for All. The event will take place from
capability to operate the models as outputs of one model can become the approx 10am to 4pm on both days and
theRegional Strategy develops. In inputs for another, so that there can be delegates will be able to sign up for
consistency in data and assumptions
recent years, the region has invested sessions of interest. Delegates are free
that the different models are using.
heavily in the development of models, to attend either or both days.
and a range of good quality productsNERIP is working with colleagues from Invites will be sent out during the
already exists. around the region to develop the first week of May. Keep checking the
modelling framework further. RIU website (www.nwriu.co.uk) for
Nonetheless, there are likely to be For more details, contact David Mell information.
gaps where new models are needed to (david.mell@nerip.com).

South West Observatory conference provides insight London’s DMAG

into regional resilience and future-proofing
On 11th March, the South West
Observatory held its 6th Annual
Conference at the British Empire and
Commonwealth Museum in Bristol.
Entitled ‘Weathering Storms:
Regional Resilience and Future
Proofing’, the Conference brought
together experts and policy-makers to
consider the challenges of climate
change, economic change and
demographic change faced by the
region now and in the future. By
drawing together these strands it
posited that although no future is ever
certain, if the region is to remain on
course to weather the storms ahead, it
must ensure that its policy-making is
based on the most reliable evidence.
Speakers on the day included former National Farmers’ Union Chair Sir Ben
Gill, Forum for the Future Chief Executive Peter Madden, Experian’s Heather
Wells and Jon Bright, Regional Director of the Government Office for the
South West. You can find more information via: www.swo.org.uk/conference09
www.regionalobservatories.org.uk
launches Borough Stat-
pack 2009
In January, DMAG published their
annual Borough Stat-pack. The
Stat-pack is designed to provide a
wide range of borough level data and
comprises a leaflet and a data CD.
The CD contains nearly 200
spreadsheets of borough data.
The aim of the CD is to reduce the
amount of time spent searching for
data. By using the links within the
spreadsheets, it is possible to navi-
gate to the source of the data where
even more data on that subject can
most likely be found.
This year’s stat-pack disc also con-
tains a set of Interactive maps using
InstantAtlas technology. A selection
of key variables can be found in this
informative set of thematic maps. The
maps instantly reveal geographic
patterns in the data that would
otherwise be difficult to recognise.
View the pack: http://bit.ly/v0tSS
News from the Association of Regional Observatories
West Midlands: State of the Introducing the Sub-national Data User Group (SNUG)
Region The steering group, initiated by ARO and producers.
The West
Midlands
Regional Ob-
servatory’s new
State of the
Region process
is well and truly
underway. The
new process,
introduced in
early 2008, aims
to strengthen
Last year’s successful
the links between ‘State of the Region
evidence and policy Report’
through a series of themed
dialogues. The findings from the process
will be drawn together into a short
synthesis report, which will be published
in October at the Observatory’s Annual
Conference.
Reports on the first four dialogues of
the Knowledge Economy (http://bit.ly/
1b57n2), Innovation (http://bit.ly/wiffd),
Sustainable Communities (http://bit.ly/
As9i9) and the West Midlands’ Evidence
base (http://bit.ly/Ppaap) are due to be
published in late spring to early summer
2009.
In the meantime, new dialogues on
Climate Change (http://bit.ly/x8zaG)
and Population Change (http://bit.ly/
15mVP9) have begun. The presentations
from both have been made available on
the Observatory’s blog, Observations
(http://wmro.wordpress.com/), as
slidecasts, meaning that presentations
can be viewed and listened to online.
At both workshops, delegates from
research and policy disciplines discussed
the quality of available evidence and
identified some of the key gaps in that
evidence. They then moved on to
discuss how evidence can be used to
inform and deliver policy in the region,
and began to identify priorities for
enhancing the evidence base for this
purpose.
The work programmes will now be
taken forward by the Observatory’s
Environment and Population & Society
groups and will report in the autumn.
ONS, and supported by the Statistics
User Forum, met in April for the first
time, to take forward their aims of
representing the voice of users to
producers and legislators, and identifying
and addressing issues of concern to
those users. The steering group, made
up of colleagues from local authorities,
the third sector, and sub-national and
sub-regional agencies, will be shaping a
series of events and workshops, provid-
ing a forum for data users to learn from
(and question) one another, and to
engage in dialogue with statistical
South East England Intelligence Network launches
refreshed website
The revamped SEE-IN website was
launched in February. Working with
graphic design company 3 Men and a
Suit, and website development company
Rendili, SEE-IN have created a new
modular design for the front page of
their website. This allows greater
freedom over the front page content
and displays more information than
before.
New features on the front page include:
- Useful Tools: Shortcut links to
commonly used tools. In this case,
the Data Hub, Events Calendar, a
new SEE-IN blog (SEE-IN
Comment) and the South East
Cultural Observatory.
- What’s New: A slight redesign on
the previous site feature.
Automatically picks up the four
most recent items added to the
Research Database or Document
Library.
- SEE-IN Highlights: A static box
displays new content added to the
Events Calendar, SEE-IN Comment
and a direct link to the Office for
National Statistics (ONS) in the
Region pages to raise their profile.
- SEE-IN Partners Latest: A
rolling news ticker displays rss feed
content (headlines and brief
description) from South East
regional organisation websites.
www.regionalobservatories.org.uk
An initial session is planned for
later this year, looking at
population denominators and the
National Indicator set, with future
events planned around cross-
cutting themes of interest to a
broad group of users of regional,
local and neighbourhood level data.
If you’d like to join the mailing list
in order to receive news of events
and other activities, please email
Nicola Underdown, the ARO
Coordinator, on
nicola@regenerationem.co.uk.
The new modular design displays more
information and shows useful features such as
shortcuts to commonly used tools
Redesigning the existing
Office for National Statistics
(ONS) in the Region pages
SEE-IN have applied a variation of
the Research Database front page
template to the ‘ONS in the
Region’ pages. The content had
been crudely formatted to mimic
the layout, but now a professional
template has been applied to it.
SEE-IN Update, an automatic
E-Alert
As part of the website refresh,
SEE-IN set up an automatic email
alert to go to registered users on
the 1st of each month, detailing
what has been added to the site in
the preceding month, and
upcoming events in the next
month. The first e-alert was sent
out on 1st March 2009. You can
register to the SEE-IN website to
receive this alert by visiting http://
www.see-in.co.uk/signup.html